The point is this:

Over the counter sleeping pills are strictly for once in a blue moon use...for a couple of days or so.

Perhaps those occasional times when you have a short-term
illness. A pulled muscle or backache that causes insomnia. Or those
tragic moments in life where we lose a loved one and are overcome with
grief.

I've been there and you probably have been too.

That said, if you take them long term...longer than a week—two weeks maximum...you are risking your health.

Face a cold dose of reality here...

If you need one of these over the counter sleep aids to get to sleep
every night—or just two or three times a week, week after week—you've
got a medical problem.

You need to see your doctor to get it resolved.

The real issue here is why do you need these drugs to sleep? Why
aren't you tackling the root causes of insomnia you are dealing with?

And if you think you're getting refreshing, healthy sleep when you're on these drugs, you're living in a dream world.

When you take otc sleep aids, you're not really sleeping. You're
not getting into the deep, restorative sleep that is necessary for
vibrant health.

You've merely conked yourself out with a drug and your eyes are
closed. It's the difference between swimming on top of the water versus
diving deep in the ocean where the real life and exciting action is.

Sometimes they also contain pain killers like acetaminophen and
ibuprofen. Did you know that acetaminophen overdose is one of the most
common poisonings worldwide, according to MedlinePlus?

Plus, if you try to stop taking these otc sleep aids, you are in for a rude awakening...

No pun intended. This is serious business here.

Have you ever asked yourself, “Gee, I hope there are no long-term
effects from using these over the counter sleeping pills every week.
Does anybody know if there are?”

Could very well be. Again, you should see my article below on otc sleep aids about dementia and brain damage. Researchers have some
shocking information for you about that.

While you're worrying about long-term effects, how about the following:

Short-term effects that are already so bad for your health

People are popping pills day after day. Week after week. Month after
month. Year after year of daily or almost daily swallowing of these over
the counter sleep aids that can cause the following bad side effects:

Addiction. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says
these sleep aids should not be used for more than two weeks. They
also say they are not habit forming.

Oh really? Then what about the untold numbers of people who have
been using over the counter sleep aids for months? Even years. Let's
deal with the real world here.

Withdrawal. So in answer to the question, "Can you get addicted to over the counter sleeping pills?" the answer is yes. The way to know is to stop taking them. More than likely, you will experience withdrawal. As I said before, if you've been taking these sleeping pills for a long time, you should discuss this with your doctor.

Hypotension (abnormally low blood pressure). This can be just as dangerous to your health as high blood pressure.

Headaches.

Blurred vision.

Prostate problems.

Liver toxicity. Some of the over the counter sleep aids contain the pain reliever acetaminophen as well as diphenhydramine.

Morning hangover. There may be an inability to get out
of bed for work because you're too drugged up. (And what about getting a
12-year-old kid up for school after he or she downed one of these pills
the night before?)

Daytime drowsiness and fatigue: This can lead to poor
work performance, as well as driving drowsy and causing accidents. The
FDA says: “They [over the counter sleep aids] don't completely stop
working after 8 hours—many people feel drowsy for longer than 8 hours
after taking them.”

There are 15 more disturbing side effects in part 2 of over the
counter sleep aids. And they are even worse. Click the Part 2 link below
the references to read them now.

References for Over the Counter Sleep Aids

Side Effects of Sleep Drugs. FDA, US Food and Drug Administration, Consumer Updates.